Seeds....

Hello September!

xo

Seeds....

...autumn 

An Autumn Weekend

 
Autumn is in full swing around here - vibrant color, falling leaves, perfect pumpkins and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends! And the weather has been fabulous - sunny, fresh and wonderful for outdoor activity. Here is a round up of some of the highlights of our gorgeous October holiday weekend! I was sitting having my coffee when these two yellow maple leaves drifted down and settled on this pretty rusty mum on our back step - so lovely!

There are still lots of gloriously hued leaves on our maples and oaks but they are
beginning to fall and swirl about the yard. 
Ethel is beside herself romping in them
 and chasing them as the breeze flutters them around the lawn.

 

 

I love to set a table and special occasions are a wonderful chance to show guests how happy I am to have them join us.  And then I love to take photos of it! Here are a few from Thanksgiving dinner.

 

We are going to be away for Christmas this year so my niece and I decided to combine holiday dinners this weekend - we celebrated 'Chris-giving' or was it 'Thank-mas'... there were 12 for dinner and we were so glad to have everyone there!





 

A smattering of gold stars and a few sparkly ornaments in orange and purple celebrated autumn

with just a hint of Christmas. On Saturday morning, Sophie, her best friend and I set up shop to create sweet felted acorn ornaments, also in orange, purple and red, to dangle from the branches in the centerpiece.

 

 

'The girls' helping to arrange the table.
 



 

 

Saturday night's dessert was these yummy rice crispie squares pumpkins (found on Pinterest).  We used food coloring to 'orange' them up and fondue chocolate for their stems.

 

 

There's a turkey in that there pot!!!

 We tried a couple of times to deep fry a turkey - and have always ended up putting it in the oven.  It's hard to properly cook it all the way through this way.  Hubs and my brother-in-law were determined and it was a resounding success! perfectly delicious (and we had a back up on the BBQ rotisserie, just in case :).

Happy October!



The Leaves, they are a-changin'!

This gorgeous leaf was lying on the roadside last week after a light shower- it was gorgeous!

I just had to pick it up and photograph it - here are a couple from about 70 photos!

Country roads...

We walk this country road most days and there is always
something new to notice.  Today the weather is simply spectacular!

A patch of sunny yellow autumn blooming wildflowers
from an old torn downfarmhouse.

A working farm - haying, cows and fresh vegetables sold at a
stand just down the road.

Fuzzy caterpillars crossing the road in every directions -
I'm not sure where they are headed but they seem to know!
I think the red head is a butterfly caterpillar - she's got quite a
'horn' on her tail end!

one fine October morning...

After a wet and dreary last few days, this morning dawned crisp, clear and with autumn perfection! This view is the reason we moved outside the city! Yesterday I made a post office run (now 15 minutes each way :), and noticed the fall color is really beginning...brilliant reds and oranges on the maple trees and yellow on the birches - life is good!

 I had a visitor today - a beautiful large piliated woodpecker usually drops by in the autumn to gorge on the dark blue berries on my virginia creeper.  He had his fill today -- isn't he gorgeous?!

Fredericton Fall Craft Show was a huge success!

It was a mild rainy weekend, perfect weather for Fredericton's Fall Craft Show, held at the Capital Exhibit Center this past weekend. The show was expanded to three days this year giving plenty of time for the lovers of handmade to visit and indulge themselves!

Friday and Saturday were like old home week!  It was wonderful to see and chat with friends, family and many loyal local customers who dropped by the show. 

 

It was also great to catch up with several of my 'maker' friends that I haven't seen since last season and meet some new artisans too (hi Donna!). Wishing everyone a fabulous and busy holiday crafting season~

 

Many thanks to the those who began their holiday shopping or indulged themselves with one of my creations and also to the organizers for their hardwork and dedication to the handmade community right here in my hometown!

feelin' a little nutty today

sunflower challenged...

"The sunflower is mine, in a way."

~ Vincent van Gogh

I'm inspired by sunflowers-- their huge, bold faces turned into the sun. I've imagined in my garden, long curves of their yellow heads bobbing in the autumn sunshine and birds happily feeding on the abundance of seeds in their golden centers.

...many spring mornings have found me in my garden, planting the seeds with this vision dancing in my imagination. I can see myself cutting huge armfuls for bouquets, and walking among, towering over my head in all shades of golden yellow, cinnamon browns and warm orange reds.

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. That's what sunflowers do." ~ Helen Keller

Alas... hehehehe... I hate to admit how many sorry little patches of short, withered-looking little sunflowers I've 'grown' -- I tell myself it's the soil (yeah, that's it), but I suspect it's me! So, every autumn, I head to the flower market (several times) to get my sunflowers! This morning, they were smiling happily at me from the kitchen windowsill as I made the coffee. I couldn't resist a few photos in the Saturday morning sunshine...I didn't even plant any seeds this year! Enjoy your morning...

karon xo

New for Autumn 2011 at Wild Woman Jewelry!

"By all these lovely tokens September days are here,

With summer's best of weather

And autumn's best of cheer."

~ Helen Hunt Jackson

It's beautiful today and I can feel autumn in the air- a fresh breeze, bright sunlight and changing leaves. I've been a blog slug this summer, spending lots of time with family and friends, mostly at the lake. It's been a blast! And now, it's time to get back to work!!! I've been inspired by the ambers, reds and autmun color in the trees along the river -- here a few new pieces in the shop for fall.

Garnet Red Glass Earrings, Mercurial

Amber Glass Earrings, Amber Sky

Amber Glass Necklace, September Morn

...there was frost on the pumpkin!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower.

~ Albert Camus

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First Frost by judemcconkey

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With cooler mornings and shorter days, my thoughts have turned

to autumn...I was browsing on Etsy today and was inspired by these wonderful images...

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Before the Melt by exposedartandphoto

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Pumpkins by ebonypaws

...which inspired my first treasury in a long time...

Happy Autumn!

Nan Dean's Crabapple Jelly

There's a wild crabapple tree growing on the beach at the lake. It's at least 23 years old because that's how long ago it was that I tugged a root out of it's rocky home and transplanted it in our front yard- that tree is over 20 feet tall this year! Both trees are profuse with fragrant blooms in the spring and are home for birds, chipmunks and little brown squirrels that rely on its flowers, fruit and insect population- these inhabitants and their hijinks provide us with hours of hilarious entertainment year round.

I was walking by the tree on the beach last weekend and couldn't help but notice it was covered with large unblemished red apples~ more than I've ever seen before...I actually stopped to have a look at them. My sister-in-law came up behind me and commented on them as well- we both thought it seemed such a shame to let them drop and rot. She had a handwritten recipe for apple jelly from my husband's grandmother and we decided to make a batch on the weekend.

Sunday morning dawned sunny and bright and after shooing the kids to the beach, we set to work. We heated and sterlized the little jam jars ( my favorites are the stubby ones!) My nephews climbed the trees and picked the apples for us the night before--not counting the ones they bowled with or threw at each other, we ended up with two large bags full! We estimated about 6 pounds of apples- wash, cut off the stems and chop- didn't even have to remove the seeds. How easy is that?

Look at the sliced apples-- just like a sand dollar in the center and simply beautiful!

We boiled the apples with some water until they were soft and then strained them with cheesecloth and a strainer. It didn't seem possible we'd get 6 cups of juice from the mixture which seemed rather thick...and, the recipe specifically stated not to squish the apples-- but it would have taken all day for the juice to drip out so we encouraged a bit. We added a couple of ripe strawberries and a teaspoon of cranberry juice for color, the sugar and pectin, and boiled the whole mixture for just a few minutes until it thickened.

Next, we poured it into the little jars and left them to seal. It was a full morning's 'work' for 8 jars of jelly, but totally worth it, don't you think?

YUM!!!

Autumn Leaves...

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